TWG Day 1 - It has become quiet...

It has become quiet in ST-vill.
The same has happened in other towns and people knew the rumors were true, they knew what would happen if they stayed ... and so they were leaving the city in fear for their lives because now, the mafia was here. They have come to take over the town.
Members of the mafia have terrorized the town for a few weeks and now and after their mayor has been found dead in front of the townhall with a bullet between his eyes, only a few people remained who still dared to resist the mafia. They knew there were three members of the mafia among them and the only way out now was to find and kill all of them bevor the mafia grew too powerfull.
ST-vill would soon become even more quiet ...

Also, compie, and you give us a clarification? Does a placeholder vote count as a vote, meaning that, if the mafia changed a vote, it would stack against placeholders?

Also, if there are, say, 8 placeholder votes, and 3 votes for a member, does that mean no one gets lynched?

The reason I am asking this is, read one way, the mafia have the ultimate killing weapon, an instant hitman attack, if everyone votes placeholder and placeholders don't count as an actual vote, one that even the lucky bastard cannot survive. That would be the case when the mafia decides to change a single vote instead of attacking at night.

Taken another way, the use of placeholder's as votes could be used as a way to keep people from getting lynched. For example, two people vote for someone, and three people want that person to live, and vote placeholder, if placeholder counts as a vote, it would negate the lynch votes.

My point is that the voting system can be abused, both if, and if not, placeholders are counted as actual votes.
Could we have some clarification?

Edit: After that long spiel about my bolding the thing, I forgot to actually bold it. Ooops.